"I Always Get What I Want" was written by Avril Lavigne and
Clif Magness, with the latter handling production. Lavigne had previously worked with Magness on her debut album,
Let Go (2002). Five songs were produced by Magness for the album: "
Losing Grip", "
Mobile", "Unwanted", "My World", and "Too Much to Ask". Following the release of
Let Go, Lavigne worked with new collaborators for
Under My Skin, including guitarist
Evan Taubenfeld and singer
Chantal Kreviazuk. Lavigne continued to work with Magness, although only "I Always Get What I Want" would appear on the
reissued album in the form of a bonus track. On May 24, 2004, the song was released digitally as a promotional single on
iTunes. "
Take Me Away" and "
He Wasn't", both of which are present on the parent album, were also released as promotional singles on the same day. "I Always Get What I Want" was later re-released in November 2004 as a
B-side to
Nobody's Home, the third single from
Under My Skin. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by
Alfred Publishing, the song is written in the key of
C major and is set in
time signature of common time with a
tempo of 182
beats per minute. Lavigne's vocal range spans two octaves, from B3 to C5. The lyrics of "I Always Get What I Want" carry a message of entitlement, with Lavigne dedicating the song to "any young girl out there who always gets what she wants". ==Reception==